#and that means there will always be a power dynamic between them and odysseus

[coolunspokenforname]

Okay, but Odysseus did not cheat, at least not with Circe or Calypso. As much as I am for giving shit to people who cheat, what happened with Circe and Calypso can not be considered cheating, since Odysseus' consent is incredibly dubious.

Both Circe and Calypso had a lot of power over him. Both could have killed him if he didn't do as they asked. Circe could have killed his men too, and Calypso literally held Odysseus captive for years, to the point where when she touched him, he flinched. He was literally crying by the beach for years, and she only let him go when Hermes (a God more powerful than her) told her to.

It's really disappointing how people so quickly see Odysseus being forced into sex, and automatically villainize him. Trust me, there are many shitty things Odysseus has done (mass murder, kidnapping, etcetera), and you could probably even find times where Odysseus does cheat, but using Circe and Calypso as examples is absolutely awful.

(Just to note, this post is based on the Emily Wilson translation since that is the one I read. However, the power dynamics are pretty much the same in every translation, so my point still stands.)

[magicspace114]

I need to rant, sorry in advance

Ok so I have been a bit obsessed with Epic the musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. For anyone who doesn't know it's still in the making with 4 concept albums out and follows the story of the Odyssey. This rant is about his most recent album, the Circe Saga.

So. I love these songs, they're all really amazing and I really recommend people check it out if they've not listened to it before but I especially like imagining how they'd be performed on a stage, the acting and blocking behind the lyrics, which is what has me fixated on the last two songs in the Circe Saga "Done for" and "There are other ways" because the way the power dynamics shift back and forth between Circe and Odysseus leads to some pretty fun blocking.

Considering you hear lion roars in the track emphasising some of Circe's lines, you can imagine her being pretty imposing when the odds are in her favour. Meanwhile Odysseus has always been cunning, hiding his advantage for the first part of the song, he's allowing her to impose on him so there's a lot of back and forth both in the song and in the actual blocking.

I can't tell this rant to anyone I know because this isn't their type of thing so I'm taking it to Tumblr and maybe some of you will actually like it.

A little context to the scene in my head just so you know where some things are in the room that are relevant. There's a table in the centre of the room. This would have been the table Odysseus' men had ate at before they were turned to pigs. The food is gone and the table has new placements set awaiting another meal. To the far right of the stage, a lounge chair that Circe is sitting on at the start of the song, pointing out at a possible veranda or something with a small table beside it.

So, the blocking in my head, as well as a bit of thought tracking, following the lyrics of the song goes as follows:

Odysseus enters from the opposite side of the stage, having to cross the room and past the table. He never approaches farther than halfway between the table and Circe.

"Lady of the palace, sorry that I ask this..." - This entire start of the song is a ruse. Odysseus is under no impression that this is a misunderstanding. He's purposefully playing up the innocence to keep Circe off guard.

Circe is initially fooled, having easily tricked her last visitors. She's not worried or threatened so remains in her seat looking away from Odysseus. Her hands are busy, I'm imagining a wine glass in one hand and maybe she's petting a lion with the other hand or something.

"Did you do something to them?" Odysseus plays up the innocence and unsureness, letting himself appear weak, stopping his approach here before he gets too close to Circe.

"Who me? All I did was reveal their true forms." Circe mocks Odysseus' innocence, still not looking at him or moving.

"You turned them into pigs." This line from the track sounds like he's in awe, almost like he's unaware such magic exists so likely more ruse to keep Circe off guard.

"Ha." Circe puts down her wine glass and stands up, finally turning to him.

"I don't know who you are nor why you're here..." Circe approaches Odysseus, holding all the power in this scene as she backs him up to the table.

"I've got people to protect, nymphs I can't neglect, so I'm not taking chances dear." Odysseus' lower back hits the table behind him and she closes the gap. I see Circe as a rather tall woman, at least a little taller than Odysseus so she's able to tower over him here.

"If you make one wrong move then you're done for..." she boxes him in with her hands on either side of him, making him lean back against the table. During her chorus, she's very predatory, leering and appraising him like a cat playing with prey. Odysseus' face is stoic.

"I don't mean to tip your scales..." Odysseus' face breaks into a smug smile and he straightens up. Circe stops leaning over him and her arms drop from boxing him in.

"You must be a liar, mortals can't acquire moly without dire consequence." She stands back a little now, looking at him with suspicion. She's not threatened yet but her guard is going up.

"Then I must be a god like you cus I got this root from the ground with my bare hands." Odysseus playing up his confidence in hopes of bringing Circe off guard again and making her think he's more cocky than he is.

"Hermes gave it to you, didn't he?" Circe's having none of the act.

"Alright, yes, fine, but regardless." Odysseus also drops the act.

"You and I are now evenly matched. Our fates are intertwined they're attached." He draws his sword and points it at Circe's neck. She's stepped back so she's a full sword length away from him, putting her in the exact opposite position than she was at the start of the song.

"I have people to protect, friends I can't neglect." Odysseus starts backing Circe up. Circe is backing away but specifically, she's backing towards her chair where her staff is.

"So now there is no turning back." Both pause for this line.

"You've made your one wrong move-" Circe darts for her staff, using it to counter Odysseus' blade. "-now you're done for."

This chorus, the pair are fighting with each other with their weapons but also with their magic. I know in Jorge's idea of the scene, Odysseus conjures a cyclops to defeat Circe's monster (I can't remember what it is) so in my vision, a cyclops and lion monster are fighting with each other in the background while Odysseus and Circe fight in the foreground, their moves being somewhat mirrored by their creatures.

When the cyclops overpowers the lion, Odysseus has disarmed Circe. He's not flush to her with the sword under her chin, more standing with the tip of his blade at her neck so he's a sword's length away, sword poised and gaze sharp and calculating.

"You've lost." He can't kill her yet, he needs her to change his men back.

"My nymphs are like my daughters..." It's Circe's turn to start acting. Her face softens to garner sympathy.

"But everyone's true colours are revealed in acts of lust." Her face morphs into a suggestive look.

"I'm not sure I follow." Odysseus tenses up here, maybe knowing what's to come.

In this song, though there's a lot of sensual touching, all of it is very purposeful for Circe. In this song, it's not about seducing him, it's about distracting him until she can get the upper hand.

"There are other ways of persuasion, there are other modes of control. There are other means of deceit, there are other roads to the soul." Sensual touching starts on the blade, a finger moving down it, gently nudging it away from her throat, by the end of this line, she'll had reached his wrist and fully pointed the blade away from her.

"There are other actions of passion." She's taken steps to close the gap between them, hand moving up his arm and to his face, directing him to stare at her face.

"You have so much left to learn, want to save your men from the fire, show me you are willing to burn." She's circling him closely, once on the other side of him, she's within reach of the table.

When they start to harmonise their songs, Circe directs Odysseus closer to the table using the hand on his face, cupping the back of his neck so she can bring him with her as she backs towards the table, getting close enough to take a knife from the table placements. Odysseus tries to shy away from her seduction but every time he tries to look away, she has him look back with the hand on his cheek or chin to ensure he can't see what she's doing.

"There is so much power, so much power, but there's no puppet here." She slips out between him and the table, going behind him, hiding the knife behind her while she continues to sing in his ear.

As they harmonise again, she keeps up the sensual touching, keeping him looking at her as she appears at his other shoulder again, now backing him up against the table.

"There's no puppet here." "Forgive me." At this harmonisation, Circe has her arms around his neck, knife behind him, poised to stab him.

"I can't!" Odysseus pushes her away and she's so surprised that she actually stumbles. She quickly hides her knife at her side.

"Back at home my wife awaits for me..." At this point, Odysseus is genuinely pleading with Circe, knowing he needs to appeal to her in order to get her to willingly turn his men back. This is a moment he shows her real vulnerability.

"So I beg you, Circe, grant us mercy, and let us puppets leave." Circe has turned away by now to hide as her face softens. Her shoulders drop.

"Poseidon, ey?" She relaxes, setting her knife down on the small table beside her chair.

"There might be a way to evade him, there might be a way to get home..." She turns back to him, eyes calculating but not hostile.

"I can't get you home but I'll get you to the underworld instead..." She's closing the gap again but now not stepping into his personal space, just really standing at a comfortable distance for conversation.

"Wait, you're helping us?" Odysseus steps forward, surprised but tension releases in his shoulders.

"There are many ways of persuasion..." Circe moving away as she sings the last of her lines.

"Maybe one day the world will need a puppeteer no more." She walks to Odysseus again.

"Or maybe one day the world will need a puppeteer more." She passes behind him as she holds out her last note.

Sorry again for this, I just wanted to write this down somewhere and see if anyone wants to read it.

[moonmaidensblessing]

I love Mystra as a character 100% she is an interesting character and I adore a morally questionable woman with my whole heart in fiction but I’m trying to get why ppl get so up in arms about her. The concept of a god having a relationship with a mortal is nothing new; I wrote a paper last semester comparing Gale to Odysseus from the Odyssey for the very reason they both had relationships with goddesses. It’s an age old situation in storytelling and it’s not going anywhere.

I want to posit the idea that Gale’s specific dynamic with Mystra is meant to say more about his character than her, though, since he’s a major character. His relationship with her is meant to tell us how powerful he is as a magic-wielder and his connection with it is beyond what the average magic user could ever dream of (looking at you, Rolan). He is written in a way where his hubris could easily lead him down a bad path as it had done several times for him already. He is messing with things beyond his scope, though, as he learns more and gains more power. A line I always feel people ignore is the one where he admits Mystra gave him a boundary, appropriately seeing what it was (Netherese magic that had almost killed her before), and tend to majorly focus on the fact that she asks him to sacrifice himself with that same dangerous magic. I mean, i can see a perspective that she sees Gale as potentially dangerous since he disregards her request ultimately for his own purposes. Keep in mind that he not only has the parasite, but the orb would not be kept docile forever. He became dangerous not only to himself but to anyone unfortunate enough to be too close should something happen. He poses an immense threat after crossing Mystra’s boundary (his exact words in the game) to Faerûn, the Weave itself, etc.

Does this make Gale evil? No. He had the potential to be misguided, though, in the story, and I think that’s the writers’ point was how easy it can be to fall from might and grace with a few bad choices.

To be frank, the dynamic between Gale and Mystra is already at a power imbalance. It isn’t like the other characters’ relationships with their respective gods because they do not have a romantic/sexual relationship with them. That is a curious distinction, which would lend to it being an unusual practice in the pantheon of the gods. However, not in the world of literature, I reiterate. Odysseus has intimate encounters with several goddesses in his journey, but the power dynamic is written a lot differently than how Mystra and Gale are written.

If it is not common practice for the gods to have intimate interactions with mortals, then it stands to reason that it is a discouraged practice among them. We hear a line in the game where Gale says Ao would not permit Mystra to interfere with their quest directly, and it makes me believe there are rules for the gods when it comes to behavior and actions. For some reason, Mystra is permitted to have romantic relationships with her worshippers, and I have to wonder why that is. Apparently it isn’t common for her to pick someone, either, as she only chooses the most powerful magic users, her chosen ones. And that’s where we start to run into the power imbalances.

In a way, Gale seeks the missing magic for Mystra to feel equal to her, a dynamic that would never change no matter what he did. Who is really to blame? The one who wasn’t content in his role, or the god who appointed him to that role in the first place? Was Mystra trying to influence Gale to stop him reaching beyond mortal limitations, fearing (for him or perhaps herself even) that he would go too far one day just like Karsus before him? Did she have valid reasons to fear for herself and the world of magic, or was it a selfish act borne out of fear of losing control of her realm and devotees? I don’t think people are thinking this deeply about it.

I think why it bugs me in a way that kids keep giving her the “bitchy mean girl” treatment is because it sort of cheapens the intent of the characters and what its supposed to mean to the story. I mean It’s funny but I cannot look at a single piece of fan art online that features her without 15 ppl all unironically claiming acts of violence against a video game character. I guess its ultimately harmless, and it’s good they are able to recognize the harm that is present there, but it feels like a simple, immature take just all on its own.

Oh and I definitely hate the take that Mystra groomed him. That makes me pretty sick, and it isn’t a one to one comparison at all. I sincerely doubt that was the writers intention at all, and as someone who was it makes me pretty mad to see. But I understand since most of those saying it are most likely children who don’t have a full grasp of it. Grooming is intentionally selecting a person with little to no agency, usually a child, and trying to influence them into inappropriate situations. I feel like comparing that dynamic to grooming demeans and lessens the importance of it in real life. Gale was not a child, he has agency in his life, and it’s cheapening even to the character to imply he had no control over what was happening to him. Unless I’m missing some crucial piece of lore here, I don’t think Mystra picked Gale as her chosen and romantic partner to make him find Karsus’ tome and unleash the magic that nearly killed her and destroyed all magic.

I get it, though, why young people jump to that conclusion. Again, I’m glad that they see the surface level issue. I’m glad they can recognize danger and harm. That’s good. I’d never discourage someone, especially children, in being vigilant with those sorts of things.

And of course all this said not so much in defense of Mystra (though I love her as a character) but more in defense of the people who wrote it. This game is so well written and it’s one of the reasons why I love it so much. The fact that I CAN write an essay for class about it makes me over the moon and goes to show just how much depth and meaning is present.

[gingermintpepper]

On that trojan war au thing you're writing. 1. What are the tags for it, cause I'm super interested! And would love to read what you have so far! 2. "And Odysseus is a much grimmer darker man due to his home being one of the places that were first swallowed up by Erebus" - I wanna know more about this. Please tell me more.

Oh , wow, I'm so flattered! I'm very happy it sounds appealing to you <33 This work is a huge passion project of mine so I'm always glad to talk more and more about it, especially since there are many aspects occurring in the background (such as the alternate fates of the main players of the Trojan Conflict) which I cannot properly cover or even explain within the events of the novel itself.

That said: 1) If you mean tags as in ao3 - unfortunately, this work isn't on ao3 my friend :( As I said above, these are elements and concepts in the greek mythology based-fantasy novel I'm currently writing (the concept of which I outlined here in the introductory post of my novel concept!) As for wanting to read whatever writing I currently have available: I currently have three fics available on ao3 that are written in my Pursuing Daybreak verse!

The Prince and Princess series deal with a young Apollo and Artemis and the many consequences they face after Apollo has slain Python. The two works uploaded right now are Exeunt Phoebus Apollo which covers the murder trial of Python and Manent Apanchomene Artemis which covers the intense feelings of helplessness and alienation Artemis experiences after Apollo returns from his banishment and is completely changed. Both of these have themes of family, grief and relationship exploration at their heart.

The third bit of writing I have up is quite outdated but does cover the immediate aftermath of Hyacinthus' death. It's called A Petal Falleth and features Apollo making one of those Big Silly Decisions that have completely unintended but extremely important consequences: namely, instead of the larkspurs being made of Hyacinthus' spilt blood, Apollo anchors the boy's soul to the flowers so Thanatos wouldn't take him. Like the Dawn is also set in this world but because it is nsfw in nature, I wouldn't recommend it as easily as the other three bits of writing. If you don't mind the whole naked men thing though, I'd definitely suggest reading Like the Dawn for a better idea of what my current writing is like (along with eventually getting to see characters like Hector, Andromache and Cassandra/Helenus) Like the Dawn's themes are also different to the other three works with it focusing more on the power dynamics of a god/mortal relationship, exploring masculinity and masculine sexuality and self discovery.

The running theme here, of course, is that all of these bits of writing are centered on Apollo/Artemis or Hyacinth because my novel itself is centered around them. There are, of course, other important characters and figures like Eros, Psyche, Penthesilea and Iaso (one of Asclepius' daughters) but while there is the definite presence of characters from the Trojan War they most certainly aren't at the center of the novel (and the ones that are aren't the Greeks but rather the Trojans i.e Hector, Alexander, Andromache, Cassandra, Helenus, Aeneas, so on and so forth.)

2) The basis of the apocalypse in my work is cosmological! Due to Apollo's err-- untimely departure, there's no longer anyone maintaining the axis of the heavens or the navel of the earth. Because of this, Erebus - whose darkness is usually kept firmly in the spaces between the realms - begins to spill out into both the heavens and the earth. The beasts of Erebus (referring primarily to the Seven Curses - Old Age, Misery, Deceit, Violence etc etc) consume, torment and destroy whatever is inside of Erebus' darkness and Ithaca, as one of the islands on the far edge of the world, was one of the very first places that were devoured in this manner. Odysseus was visiting the Argives at the time for a festival and had left the pregnant Penelope at home since he didn't want her to suffer through the voyage in discomfort. He only finds out about the destruction of Ithaca after it had already been consumed when Athena personally interrupts a feast to warn both him and Diomedes. Needless to say, Odysseus, like everyone else, assumes that everyone on Ithaca has died and thusly is a very, very different man in terms of humour and comport. A part of him still stubbornly clings to the belief that Penelope managed to escape - that she was smart and resourceful enough to see the end approaching and do her best to escape - but that doesn't stop him from being dour for the majority of the time. Diomedes does his best to keep his spirits up in the meantime. Without him around, Odysseus is something of a black hole when it comes to the oppressiveness of his discontent though he does manage to lighten up when in the company of Helen, Clytemnestra and even Menelaus on occasion.

[hunterartemis]

The Assistant: (Appendix 2): The Making of Maxine Valois

Like many fanfiction writers, I spend a lot of time thinking about forming different types of Original Character, and the drafts I have mentally done for Maxine was difficult each time. I have noticed from my habits that I spend a lot of time thinking about what the character looks like and not how the character feels. In terms of Maxine it was completely opposite--I had basic features in my mind, Long and black wavy hair arranged everyday in flapper-style chignon, silk clothes, tall and willowy, pale, sharp and symmetrical features, thin lips and black eyes.

“What’s in a name“? well, when it comes to my story or when I am writing--everything? I had spend a lot of time to name my OC. My first thoughts were really stupid, I went from 1920′s names to classic French names, but none matched her temper, thus I looked into some Latin names feeling that I should make her lineage a little more prominent. My choices were Claudia, Dido, Aurelia, however they sounded too serious; suddenly it clicked that Maxine sounds very regal and powerful, while ‘Max’ sounds very modern, tomboyish and playful which summer up her character in my mind. Coincidentally Letter M and N comes one after another.

Her surname is Valois, in French it means “from the valley”. The Valois name is historically relevant, and I characterise the family as the authoritarian oppression of society on women. Both the houses where Maxine was born and lived were former prisons. This signified that her entire life has been spent as a prisoner--something that clashed with the name ‘Maxine’: the greatest.

I had given her three names: Maxine, Adrienne and Odessa, each representing three aspects of her characters. “Maxine” means ‘greatest‘, ‘Adrienne’ is a French name meaning ‘dark‘ and ‘Odessa’ is just a female version of Odysseus. The Second Epilogue of The Assistant was the homage to her ‘Odessa’ name: Nostoi, on in Greek “homecoming“. When she was born, she was not welcome in her father’s home, neither in the three schools she studied: Durmstrang, Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro, nor in her Auror office as Theseus’ Vice Head, nor as Newt’s lover--a role she sought after so greatly. Her homecoming was possible by acknowledging her feelings for Theseus which she ran from which resulted her encounter with Newt.

The name “Adrienne” seems quite non-symbolic in my story, but this name was specially implemented by me with a very specific intention. ‘Adrienne’ is the French variation of the Greek name ‘Ariadne’. The most popular versions of Ariadne is ‘Ariana’ and ‘Adriana’ but I didn’t want that. The reason I selected one of Maxine’s middle name after Ariadne needs to be elaborated with the myth surrounding Ariadne.  Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, the King of Crete, who helped King Theseus cross the Maze to kill the Minotaur. After the matter was over Theseus had a brief relationship with Ariadne. He abandoned her leaving her deeply heartbroken for the Amazon Queen Hippolyta. 

JK conspicuously sneaks Greek and Roman myths into HP stories. The dynamics of Leta, Newt and Theseus seemed very ‘mythlike’ to me.By remaining Virgins fro perpetuity, Amazons sacrifice their motherhood which was quite symbolic in Leta’s mistake that killed Corvus Lestrange. Leta could easily be the diminutive of ‘Hippolyta’ the Amazon Queen. Amazons are loyal to both Artemis and Ares, which can easily be compared with Leta’s earlier attachment to Newt, (One of Newt’s middle name is ‘Artemis’). Hippolyta’s status of getting married to Theseus is a transition from Virginity to the subjugated of a King, which can easily be seen in Leta X Newt and Leta X Theseus.

How does Maxine fall in the story? King Theseus abandoned Ariadne for Hippolyta, and Ariadne was loved by Dionysus, God of Wine and revels. Maxine, just after her full name was revealed, was already showed falling drunk on the floor. Her usual material ‘excesses’ is very Dionysian in nature. After their rift with Theseus, Maxine sought comfort in her usual ‘excesses’ because I had imagined that’s what an ‘abandoned’ Ariadne would do. I also often wondered what if King Theseus repented and Ariadne caused him pain just to get a revenge on him? The union symbolizes penance of Theseus for abandoning Ariadne. 

It is not only for narrative sake, the ‘Ariadne’ name also describes Maxine’s nature. Ariadne is associated with threads and Mazes; Maxine is deliberately seen messing and tangling with the threads of relationships--profession, familial, sexual and romantic. Ariadne, with her thread left a trail throughout the maze which would later help King Theseus to get out of the maze. Maxine was proposed by Theseus right after Leta’s death. Maxine broke it off and Theseus followed her trail to her first in Newt’s apartment and second in Japan--wherever Newt and Maxine were--Theseus was always present--either physically or mentally. Her character is the most confusing array of emotional mazes. I would describe her character as ‘onion-like’: there is mask after mask: under the face of Audrey there was Maxine; under a face of employee was a crushing lover; under an envious woman was a desperate want of love... if all the masks are removed, there will be nothing left--she is essentially a hollowed out creature. 

“Tricksters“ are abundant in literature and media. We have Loki, Joker etc. who are often identified with this type: physically not very strong but highly intelligent who challenges the norms of society just to prove that strength, beauty and authority isn’t everything. We don’t often associate women when it comes to this particular archetype and this made me think about it--women can be mischievous and equally chaotic when they want to so why not! In 1920′s when women can either be Flapper party girl or a modest matron, I chose Maxine as someone different. I imagine her to be capable of walking into a party into her lingerie just to irk the “uptight official people“. Her very introduction is the testimony of her Tricksterdom--she challenges and fools the authority (Theseus) in the support of the Alternative (Newt), she combines her intellectualism with her sexuality, a point which makes Theseus readily fluster around her: snatching his wand and suggesting that she had concealed it between her breasts is not only standard-defying but also an open declaration of feminine sexuality; furthermore she later threatens that she will have Theseus’ wand “for realment”-- it could indicate either “real wand“ (indicating Theseus’ manhood) or “wand“ ‘for real‘. This play of words is so ambiguous that it makes the hearer confused and unpredictable.

It has been indicated that Maxine’s upbringing was very strict where she was constantly reminded of her inferior status: her illegitimate birth. This made her dissociate with her family and compelled her to spend more and more time developing the ways to defy them. This not only brought signs of magic in early age, but made her the innovator that she was. I imagine that she would spend her days creating spells to trick people or to harm people but also to keep her busy in the head. Tricksters are often very imaginative as their character requires it. However in one manner Maxine defers from the Trickster type. Tricksters never change in their heart; they are constant reminder that Exceptions Exist. However a change in heart occurs when she sees her mother and father being killed in front of her, which made her realise that like dynastic curse she will end up finishing herself and Newt in the process. She surrenders and accepts her punishment, something a trickster will never do. At the end she finds the reasons to submit, something she defied doing for so long, but her triumph comes when she almost scares the wedding guests and the groom Theseus to death by answering to the wedding vows “or do I?”

When we are talking about how ‘trickster-ish’ Maxine is, her name “Odessa” is meant to be under scrutiny. Homer’s Odysseus is considered a Trickster hero, whose wickedness of fooling Polyphemus cost him twenty years of detention in the sea. Maxine’s wickedness had cost her too: expulsion from Durmstrang (for murders she committed under Anatole’s manipulations), transfer from Hogwarts to Mahoutokoro (before she finished her Seventh year; only after her detention in Mahoutokoro she gets the graduation from Hogwarts), persecutions at her job etc. More than her it had cost other people: it almost got Newt, Theseus and Tina killed, imprisoned and off their jobs, the Bulgarian secretary in the party was hurt by her and Charlemagne almost lost his job (and life) for her. Her actions patronised people like Anatole who kept feeding off Maxine’s weakness and assumed British Ministry office using her as a bait. However despite all the facts, she continued to use cunning, manipulation and a pretended innocent facade to get to “home”, like Homer’s Trickster hero Odysseus did.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 117: The Zoo

“Can you blame ‘em?”

Every Western story about a return journey can be compared to The Odyssey if you squint hard enough, and while Steven’s rescue of Greg has already featured poor decisions and a cyclops, The Zoo is our most obvious reference point to a trial of Odysseus: in this case, the Lotus Eaters. 

Does it make sense that such a small population could genetically reproduce this long? Let alone that distinct races would still be a thing in this inevitably incestuous family tree spanning millennia? Does it make sense that everyone here is roughly the same age, with barely any old people or children? Or that they’re speaking English, a language thousands of years younger than the last human abducted for the Zoo before Greg? Of course not, this is a nonsensical system. But if the choice was eleven minutes going over hyper-realistic minutia of how this system works (most likely, these folks are divided into small packs and we’re just seeing one of many groups) versus an interesting fable about free will and the conflict between hedonism and responsibility, I’m good ignoring the massive leaps required for the Zoo to hold logical water.

A thorny ethical question presents itself here: if the Zoomans are eternally happy and safe, to the point where they don’t understand the concept of “hurt,” is it such a bad thing that they lack free will? To us, freedom is such an obviously good thing that its value is taken as a given, but all choice does here is make the Zoomans unhappy for the first time since an incident long ago enough to be the stuff of legend. This is a group of people whose culture predates Ancient Greece and is still going strong, outlasting any human civilization that’s ever existed on Earth by an impossibly huge degree, so what right do we have to think our moral code is superior to theirs?

The Zoo is dystopia by way of Dora the Explorer, a perfect prison that has babied its inhabitants for so many lifespans that they can’t even fathom disrupting the system. A friendly voice tells them what actions to take to have fun (Smell the flowers! Go to bed! Swiper, no swiping!) and the Zoomans obey without hesitation; they are essentially to humans what modern dogs are to wolves, a domesticated and perpetually juvenile version of the original model. But they certainly aren’t a different species in that way (dogs diverged from wolves genetically tens of thousands of years ago, rather than a paltry 5,000); we see that the Zoomans are quickly capable of making choice when the idea is planted, but they choose to listen to the little voice. Is it ethical to give them the information to make a more informed choice? My gut says yes, but that’s based on a moral code developed by a society that, like English, is much younger than Zooman society.

The second question that arises from the first is the morality of Pink Diamond’s actions. From a Gem perspective, it’s a no-brainer: free will isn’t a societal good to them, so even if Earth wasn’t destroyed as originally planned when the Zoo was built, bringing people to a paradise whose only cost is freedom is an obvious win. This matters a lot for Blue Diamond, who’s still patronizing in her “saving” of Greg but clearly means well by her own alien metrics of good and bad. And in that way, on first viewing, Pink’s behavior becomes far less ambiguous than “evil alien kidnaps humans.” If she’s anything like Blue, she considered it a favor, and that alone characterizes her more than anything else we know at this point.

In retrospect, the Zoo is more clearly a half-measure taken when Pink was trying and failing to stop the colonization she began. This conflict wasn’t short, and it’s great to see evidence of Pink trying smaller ways to help humans before realizing that more drastic actions were necessary, rather than her just jumping straight to full revolution. The fact that the Zoo is still a thing after her permanent shift to Rose Quartz, however, is one of many indicators of Pink’s childish selfishness. She didn’t release the humans she abducted, just as she didn’t think of how her faked murder might have more violent consequences than a freed Earth. I call the selfishness childish because it comes not from malice, but seemingly not knowing any better. This is the self-centeredness of somebody who’s never had any reason to not be self-centered, which doesn’t absolve the harm she causes, but makes her more interesting than a true monster.

While the Gem perspective is clear, Steven provides an ardent opposition to the concept of paradise without choice. At no point is he tempted by a life free of worries, valuing his ties to an existing life despite its many warts. And while Greg shows a few hints of falling for the Lotus Eater trap in his more relaxed attitude towards captivity, it’s crucial that his support of Steven trumps the comfort of this new reality; an entire episode about Greg measuring an easy life versus his son’s happiness, while in keeping from the weird shitty version of Greg we met in House Guest, would’ve been ruinous to his actual character. He’s still chill, and encourages Steven to chill as well for his own well-being, but never goes further in trying to stay at the Zoo; we even know that he tried to escape before Steven arrived.

While their long-awaited reunion is sweet, my favorite Steven'n’Greg moment is the realization that amethysts will likely arrive in response to pain. Steven’s insistence that Greg hit him comes from both impatience and the knowledge that he can take a punch, but Tom Scharpling perfectly captures how insane this sounds to Greg. Even though he’s physically weaker than his superhumanly powerful son, Greg’s willing to get hurt in his kid’s place. And still, Steven hesitates, because neither of these people wants to hit the other despite the circumstances. Finally, after Steven’s punch sends Greg flying, I appreciate his idea to try punching him again; to me, it’s representative of how much Steven thinks of his dad, because he just assumes this middle aged dude is tough enough to shrug off such a blow.

The two lead Zooman representatives sorta blend together, but I think that’s the point: in a society where conformity is the only option, everyone’s bound to act similarly. They’re both portrayed well enough to avoid boring tropes associated with characters like this (we don’t get airy hippies or droning disciples): Cristina Vee’s Jay-Ten and Lamar Abrams’s Wy-Six are delightfully dopey and just a little bit self-superior when things they find obvious are a mystery to our heroes. Vee doubles as the Little Voice, which is correctly played without a hint of menace, and while Abrams has already proven himself as Buck Dewey, I’m impressed by his ability to play a fully different character just as well (he’s also Garbanzo, who also sounds distinct, but he only says his own name so there’s not much room to measure differences).

While I have no idea whether the pun is intentional, I am all about these people raised beyond the stars being spacier than our more grounded Earthlings. Still, their one-note nature means that my favorite Zooman moments are actually Steven’s reactions to them. His quick decision to escape after being told to do “the bits” bit is low key hilarious, as is his bewilderment at their tiny splashes. These aren’t people that are going to make jokes or clever observations on their own, at least in a way that can match what their terrestrial counterparts can accomplish, but at least I never feel bored with the routine in a way that detracts from the episode.

In contrast to the mundane hedonism of daily life, the Choosening is just the sort of cultish jargon that one might expect from a society like this, and I love the familiarity implied in Greg’s world-weary comment that there’s always a catch with this sort of thing. We have no way of knowing how arbitrary the Choosening is, but considering Greg gets chosen Choosened right after arriving, it certainly seems random. While arranged marriage is obviously a thing on Earth as well, the power dynamics on the Zoo are more akin to forced marriage. But even this is colored by an earthly glimpse at an alien culture, because we don’t have any societies with an all-powerful overclass and a genuinely content and cared-for underclass. Is it really forced marriage if the parties involved are happy about it? Even if this is due to them being happy about everything that happens in this society? Are they really capable of true happiness when they’ve experienced no alternate emotions?

This is where the theme of choice versus happiness comes to a head, and it’s so important that we don’t get a tidy ending where free will is presented as a liberating alternative to a peaceful life of following orders. Choices allow for more meaningful happiness, but can lead to sadness as well; while this might seem obvious, I’m always down for children’s media explaining why negative emotions can be okay sometimes (see: Inside Out) and that a life free of pain isn’t necessarily good. It would be disingenuous for real choice to be presented without backlash to a society without free will, and we don’t even get to see how the situation resolves in the original series.

The amethysts march in to help, and Michaela Dietz wonderfully captures gruff warriors helping with emotional wounds. But we end the episode with the Zoomans in turmoil, abandoned by our heroes without a second thought. Based on how the system works, all it takes to reject the Little Voice is just deciding not to listen, and it hadn’t been done before because the Zoomans wanted to listen; again, it’s a tricky situation, because perhaps they do have free will and have chosen obedience. .

As in the last few episodes, we get a cliffhanger ending, but The Zoo bounces back from Gem Heist by having an actual complete story within the chapter. Steven and Greg make a meaningful impact on the Zoomans, but whether it’s for better or worse is up in the air. Our heroes gain the option to eat lotuses in peace for the rest of their days, but choose freedom instead. And they reinforce their bond by sticking together through it all. Now they just have to escape a space station crawling with Gems and find their missing friends and fly home, and that will be all!

Future Vision!

The Zoomans finally return in Steven Universe Future, where their utopia has been expanded to include the Famethyst and Holly Blue. They may be running the station, but they choose to live the way they always have. They’re also petty as hell, which is an excellent development for their passive society.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

While I appreciate the moral questions prompted by The Zoo, and enjoy the episode itself, it’s not quite something that I’d say I love. There’s nothing I find wrong with it, but it lacks a certain amount of oomph that might make it worthy to stand alongside the likes of Alone at Sea or Maximum Capacity in my rankings; this is a high concept episode that has decent character work, but ratio of focus on concept to character doesn’t align with what I love about Steven Universe.

It’s weird to put it in the same category as Gem Heist, because I like The Zoo a lot more, but this is what I get for not having way too many categories. Enh, I can live with it.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[mermaidsirennikita]

April 2018 Book Roundup

In April, I read silly books and I read books that were deadly (literally) serious.  It’s possible that the most well-written book I read was Madeline Miller’s Circe, which I loved and found much more satisfying than Song of Achilles.  But the most enjoyable book?  It was Laura Thalassa’s Pestilence, the romance novel about a girl, an apocalypse, and a sexy horseman who spreads disease.  What more could you want?

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa.  4/5.  When the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse show up, all technology fails, sending the world into chaos.  Then they disappear.  Five years later, Pestilence has reappeared, and wherever he goes a plague kills everyone in his path.  Sara, an ex-firefighter, has been sent to kill him.  When that fails?  She becomes his prisoner--with Pestilence claiming that he’s keeping her alive to make her suffer.  Of course, that’s not what’s really going on, and yes, this is a full-blown romance novel.  It’s also one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read all year thus far.  Sara and Pestilence’s romance is ridiculous, engrossing, hilarious, and yes, pretty sexy.  One thing I loved about this book is that while Pestilence is in his very nature a conqueror and pretty much a living plague--he’s also very boyish and inexperienced and the book makes that inexperience very sexy.  Because Sara’s experienced.  Sara is sarcastic, foul-mouthed, and pretty sexual; and very rarely do you come across a romance novel that lacks a serious alpha male.  Like, yes, Pestilence has his dominant moments, but overall he’s more like... sorta hapless.  I mean, spoiler alert, they have sex, what a shocker, and when Sara is annoyed that he’s not being more chill about it he’s like “I GAVE YOU MY ESSENCE SARA~~~~”.  It’s one of those books.  I loved it.

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon.  3/5.  Anna Anderson was famous for pretending to be famous--after an attempted suicide, she claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, and was so convincing that people who met and were related to the grand duchess backed her.  “I Was Anastasia” explores Anna’s life--backwards.  Meanwhile, the story of Anastasia Romanov is told moving forward.  Somewhere, they meet in the middle, as does the truth.  In a basic way, this is a good historical fiction novel.  It doesn’t reinvent the wheel.  The thing is that if you know anything about Anastasia, you know about Anna; there aren’t any twists to be had.  What kept this from being a four-star read, aside from the fact that it was a bit expected, was one thing concerning the grand duchesses that is pretty debatable from what I understand, and--I’m not sure it was necessary.  But if you’re into the Romanovs, you may want to check this out.

Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer.  4/5.  A collection of write-ups on female serial killers.  What sets this book apart is that, aside from Erszebet Bathory and Nannie Doss (as well as the Benders, vaguely) I really hadn’t heard about most of these women.  Telfer steered clear of discussing extremely obvious women like Aileen Wuornos, instead focusing on cases that largely took place before the second half of the twentieth century, with one murderess dating back to the thirteenth century.  Of course, this means that there was often more speculation and less hard evidence, but for most of these women I think there was a pretty good case to be made that SOMETHING was going on, even if it wasn’t as salacious as some might believe.  And Telfer doesn’t just stick to typical American and European women, either--she touches about the Egyptian sisters Raya and Sakina, famous for killing a remarkable number of women, and Oum El-Hassen, a Moroccan murderess whose motives remain a mystery to this day.  More than a profiling of these individuals, however, I’d call this book an analysis of how we interpret female serial killers culturally.  Why don’t we take them as seriously as we do male serial killers?  Why do paint them, often, as more sexual than truly frightening?  Telfer doesn’t shy away from the gory details and while you might feel some empathy for these women, she doesn’t hesitate to report that some were very likely psychopaths, with no remorse--but then, that doesn’t take away from the fact that some were poor, some were abused, and some didn’t really see any better options for themselves.  The Angel Makers of Nagyrev--not one murderess but a group of Hungarian village women who, over fifteen years, killed around 300 people for a variety of reasons--were particularly interesting and kind of heartbreaking.  Highly recommend.

Tangerine by Christine Mangan.  2/5.  In 1956, Alice goes to Tangiers with her new husband--a man she barely knows--John.  Haunted by an event that happened while she was at school--an event she barely remembers--Alice struggles with anxiety and paranoia, and can’t adjust to the strange world of Morocco.  However, her past catches up to her in the form of Lucy, her old school friend.  This is essentially a 40s/50s film noir/psychological thriller movie a la Hitchcock in book form. Unfortunately, while I feel it would have worked as a movie of that style and era, the writing wasn’t attention-grabbing.  Pretty, but a bit dull.  I couldn’t tell much of a difference between the voices of Lucy and Alice, though they alternated, and the “twist”...  I don’t need a twist in my thrillers--a real one, that is--but if there is going to be one it should be decent.  This was fairly pedestrian.  A missed opportunity, especially painful because the authorb describes Morocco so well.

Indecent by Corrine Sullivan.  3/5.  Imogene has always envied the rich kids who went to elite boarding schools.  Now a grown woman, she becomes a teacher’s assistant of sorts at a fancy prep school for boys--only to find herself attracted to one of the students.  This is not an easy read.  If anyone reads it and believes that Imogene’s victim--because horny seventeen year old boy or not, he is that--was the bad person here, nah.  I don’t think Sullivan intends it that way at all.  Imogene is a study of a predator who became that way through insecurity and arrested development.  She thinks like a teenager.  She constantly critiques herself--her body, her relative lack of sexual experience.  She compares herself to teenage girls, for God’s sake, and is all impressed by a seventeen year old boy’s “experience” and “charisma”.  By being in Imogene’s mind...  You get how a predator becomes a predator.  Some aren’t born that way, and the line between a woman in her early twenties and a boy in his late teens COULD conceivably get blurred--but it’s always the adult’s fault, and this book doesn’t shy away from that.  I wouldn’t say it was a fun read, but it was interesting.

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean.  3/5.  Malcolm, the Duke of Haven (yes) has a problem.  He needs an heir--but to have an heir, he first needs a wife.  Actually, he has one; but Seraphina, the title-chaser who “trapped” him into marriage left nearly three years ago.  Now she’s shown up asking for a divorce, which isn’t all that easy to get.  Malcolm makes her a deal: if she helps choose his next wife, he’ll grant her the divorce.  Of course, Malcolm would far rather keep Seraphina around than have her select her replacement...  so his real plan is to woo her into staying with him.  This was a pleasant, enjoyable read that varied from the typical romance novel in that the hero has done a genuinely bad thing--not just a mildly upsetting thing--and there are very strong problems in the marriage.  Malcolm and Sera are both pretty wounded by what they’ve done to each other and one major thing neither one of them could have really helped.  The angst was real.  And the sex scenes were good--lots of emphasis on female gratification in this one.  But parts of the story were kind of like... too much comic relief for a novel with the kind of backstory this one has.  I’m not saying it had to be a serious story AT ALL, but Sera has this chorus of sisters and I liked them at first but it become... too much.  However, I’d still call it a solid historical romance.

Circe by Madeline Miller.  5/5.  Known as the witch who turned Odysseus’s men into pigs before capitulating to his charms and will, Circe is a character who was present for or linked to some of the most interesting parts of Greek mythology.  Here she gets her own epic, beginning with her birth as the nymph-goddess daughter of Helios.  Eventually exiled to an island, far from the other gods, Circe encounters everything from sailors to fellow witches and kings, and even monsters.  This is a literary fantasy, the writing as beautiful as it was in Song of Achilles, but dealing with a story much more dynamic and interesting.  Circe is a character who is at times deeply caring while not losing her selfish and destructive streaks.  She has reasons for her behavior, but she isn’t declawed in the least.  Miller tells the more horrifying parts of her story with taste, and at times, humor; but you never lose the sense of the epic in this novel.

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton.  4/5.  As the king of Innis Lear ages, his obsession with the stars and prophecy leave his kingdom in a perilous position.  Drawing together his three daughters--the warlike Gaela, manipulative and child-starved Regan, and the favorite, Elia--Lear promises that he will name his heir.  But no matter who he chooses, the sisters are prepared to go to war for the crown, and for the fate of Innis Lear.  Obviously, this is a retelling of King Lear--Gratton evidently found the initial portrayal of Lear’s daughters lacking, and really takes that to task here.  And to be sure, Gaela, Regan, and Elia have far more depths than the women in the original play.  But the fact is that I could have done with more of them, and less of the perspective of others.  When the story is with the sisters, it’s enthralling.  But often, there’s the perspective of Ban, a pivotal character--an embittered bastard with remarkable power--but perhaps not the most compelling voice.  Then there’s the fool’s daughter Aefa, Ban’s mother Brona, the sisters’ uncle, and more.  Gratton also often delves into the past, revealing plot points but more than that developing the characters.  Which is good.  None of what is in this book is bad, really, but it’s held back from being as good as it could be by too much of the less important stuff.  For example--Gaela and Regan have a very compelling, codependent relationship.  Gaela is driven to be king, and Regan has sworn to support her no matter what and have children that will be Gaela’s heirs.  The problem being, of course, that despite the fact that she’s the only one of the sisters in a loving relationship, Regan seems incapable of bearing a living child.  The differing struggles of Gaela and Regan are amazing, and deserved more pagetime.  With that being said, this is a super compelling story, and worth checking out.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.  4/5.  Michelle McNamara, as many know, died in the middle of writing her exhaustive book on the Golden State Killer--a title she coined.  Obviously, the killer has since been caught, but he wasn’t when Michelle was researching.  The result is a gripping, incredibly well-done book on a monster.  It reminds me somewhat of In Cold Blood, but without the closeness to the killer--less sympathy, more drive to find and punish him.  McNamara was up front about her own flaws, with the book itself highlighting her obsessive nature.  But ultimately, the only thing I can really critique about her work is beyond her control; it is somewhat disjointed, as friends had to piece the book together after she died.  However, it’s a remarkable example of true crime lit.

[labellerose-acheron]

Name: Queen MK

Characters: Belle Rose Beauton, Onyango Simba Lyons, Copper Thomas Russell, Drizella Catherine Tremaine, Toulouse Henri Bonfamille, Bambino Daryl Basurto, Perdita Mariel Faye, Joshua “Strongbear�� Sweet, Maui, Urania of Hesiod, Attina Morgan Triton, Hercules Odysseus Persaud

**i just want to note that i wrote the vast majority of this at the beginning of the month before we got all our lovely new members, so just shout to everyone for being lovely writers and lovely people and making this community special!

Pick a thread from the past six months that you’re proud of and talk about why. Ugh, fuck, okay. I’m gonna try to go character by character bc so many good ones??

Belle: “Letter of Recommendation” - Beautibbs. Man, this thread straight fucked me up. It was supposed to be just something really chill, because Belle was a huge Charms nerd and she totally would’ve been a teacher’s pet to Tibbs. In HP world, I took advantage of the fact that Belle’s father left more recently than in current canon, and wanted to explore that and, surprisingly, Beautibbs was where I got to actually feel it the most. Belle is normally so composed, and the fact that she broke down--well, it was so real. She’d been putting so much pressure on herself and to see her crack was kind of cathartic for me, and for her. The fact that it was totally unexpected was what made it feel even more natural.

Simba: “Stays in Vegas” - Simber. I loved “Stays in Vegas” because the whole marriage thing was something I’d wanted to explore for a while. There are a lot of things about Simba and Ber’s relationship that are not what Simba anticipated in a relationship, and as someone who has spent his whole life thinking about the person he’s going to be with and what that relationship is gonna be like--it’s interesting to break that down. And I like exploring Simba’s insecurities too. Not his whole “I Killed My Dad” thing, but the fact that he is really always afraid of people leaving him in relationships, or that he is “too much” or pushes for things too soon. So, yeah, idk, that was really fun.

Copper: “Pixie’s Stalker” - Coperi. This thread was so good for me, because it had so many layers. It was Copper at his purest. He wanted to help Peri and give her good advice. At the same time, he was trying to think of Tink too, who he has kind of a special bond with. Then, thinking about his own mother, which he never really does, so that was nice too, because he does have some unexplored abandonment issues.

Drizella: “The Perfect Dress” - Double Trouble. What I really love about RPing with Kiara is that she has this natural instinct about the way a thread should go, and it just makes threads with her so pleasant. The chemistry that Zella and Ana have is so good, too. This thread was great because both of them were dealing with things that they weren’t talking about, it was all underground, but they still knew that the other person was dealing with things. It just felt really natural and totally sisterly.

Toulouse: “Miscalculations” - Berlou feat Roscoe. Big shout out to Lauren for this one, because when I first brought her the idea I wanted a duel, I didn’t mention anything about unforgivable curses or anything, but then she brought it up and I was really excited (especially because we didn’t tell Lauryl, sry lauryl.) It was just so great, because I always say Lou would be entirely ruthless if anyone ever hurt his siblings and I mean it. I finally got to show that, and it was so thrilling to write. Getting to write a really dark side of Lou was so great, and the fallout was lovely too.

Bambino: “On the Edge” - Merfawn. FUCK. This thread was so great. Like, I loved it because we didn’t have a plan for it. We just wanted them to RP together and they both run around in the woods, so it would be a good spot for them to meet up. It was Reanna who took it in such a great direction by having Ariel bring up the Prince. It was just such a good instinct and since this was one of my first threads with Reanna, it really impressed me and I just had a lot of fun with it.

Perdita: “Isn’t There Any Hope?” - Fate. How could I not talk about this thread? It started in December, but I can’t help it. The first time Paul and Perdita see each other in 4 months and it was just so full of emotion. I loved that Lauryl and I had discussed kind of the entire timeline of their backstory because it made it really easy to draw from and their chemistry felt really natural. It’s always a worry with relationships that are pre-established, there is going to be no chemistry, but man, do Paul and Perdita have it and you could just feel the love they have (had) for each other and the struggle that they were going through.

Sweet: “A Code in Process” - Sweet Mouse. Ugh, this one was just so good. Mostly because I actually got to perform surgery!! And that was just so fucking fun, and Kiara made it a blast. It really kind of solidified Minnie and Sweet’s relationship during this high stress environment and I just thought that was super rewarding. (Shout out to the Mr. Crowley arc with Nala, Tibbs, and Minnie. It’s been so much fun and I’m excited for the conclusion.)

Maui: “Helping Hand” - Celaui. I think Katie listed this one as well, and well, yeah, totally makes sense because this is the thing that everyone wants out of a starter. The relationship that was built after this initial thread was so beautiful and nuanced and is continuing to grow, and I just love that.

Urania: “Follow Up Interview” - Star Destroyer. Fuck me, I love this thread so much. It was kind of a random idea that just steamrolled into what it is now, and it’s another one of those plots that just feels really natural to me. And I love the dynamic of both Urania and Dornan thinking that the other is below them. They’re totally underestimating each other and I’d love to play with that power dynamic more and dig deeper into it.

Identify a challenge you’ve faced in this rp. Reflect on why this is a challenge for you. Are there any strategies you can develop to overcome this challenge?

Like many people, I struggle with plotting. A lot of times I have an end goal in mind, but I struggle with how to get there. For me, I don’t have a problem approaching people, I love talking and I don’t mind bothering more shy people to talk to me, but I have a problem sharing my ideas, because I worry that people won’t like them.

I’ve just tried becoming more confident with my ideas. I get characters now with secrets, or an end goal that I can kind of use as a jumping off point for plots. It has really helped because I feel like I can almost always find a reason or a thing that my character is grappling with.

Pick one of your characters and talk about their growth (we recommend choosing an older character, but it’s up to you! ) What about their story has surprised you? What are you proud of? How have they changed from their original inception to now?

Copper. Copperrrr. My lil honey. So, lots of people know that Copper is my hardest muse. I really don’t know what the problem is, but it’s just always been that way. Recently, though, he’s come so far, and I’ve kind of finally unstuck him from his shitty thought processes. I think that was the problem, now that I’m writing this lol. He was so resistant to change, but I just completely broke him down. Between Tod and Rajah and Shego, I managed to break him and now I’m building him back up, and that’s really satisfying to me.

He feels much more malleable, which is kind of where I wanted him to start with. So, that’s really nice. And making him a dad was really the right move because now he has this thing that reminds him to stay grounded and to be patient and understanding and more open, because his daughter is going to have magic and he loves her so much, so how could it be bad or wrong?

I am curious to see what he’ll be like as a single dad. Should be interesting.

Zella, also, has been so great. I really wanna push her more, but I’ve loved what has happened with her the past few months. She’s made a lot of mistakes and she’s trying to distance herself from them and start being serious about her future and she’s growing so much (even if no one but me can see it lmao) and I’m excited to see what happens.

Pick another character and talk a little about where you WANT them to go. What are your plans for them for the rest of the year?

Well, like a good mother, I have plans for all my beebs.

Belle: she is growing so much and getting so strong. I want to continue that thread for her. I want her to go back to school (I’ve started planting the seeds for that already.)

Simba: ugh, my babe. He has some hard times coming up based on a plot that will come to fruition at the end of summer. Through that I really want to explore Simba’s plurality of independence and doing what is expected of him and how that will affect his relationships and, in turn, affect how he views his “duties” to his family name.

Copper: be a dad. That’s p much it. I think Copper has had a really hard life, and he deserves to just enjoy being a father and be as good of one to Isabel as he can be.

Drizella: I want her to have everything stripped from her (in the process of doing so.) I want her to become more of a champion for women and move away from her mother’s toxic thinking. I want her to grow closer to both her sisters and to embrace her own path.

Toulouse: ugh, i just want my baby to be happy. I don’t know what it will be that makes him happy, but I know it won’t involve painting, at least not as a career, and I want him to accept that and realize it doesn’t make him a bad son for wanting something different. Also, I do want him to find love again, because tbh I like him better in a relationship lmao.

Bambi: explore his sexuality more. Embrace himself. And definitely get closer with his dad. That’s super important and I want it really badly, because Prince is really the only one who can help Bambi heal from his mother’s death.

Perdita: Well, she knows about her post-partum now, which yay! So, now I want to work on her relationships. I want her to start mending the town’s image of her, because she’s really not as crazy as everyone thinks she is, lol. Like, she is a normal person, I promise. She won’t be having any more manic episodes or huge explosions. (Unless something goes real wrong, lmao.) I also want her to get a better job, that’s more in line with her long term goals for herself.

Sweet: MORE SURGERY. Also I want to explore his past more. I want him to open up to someone about his magic. I also need him to make friends outside of the hospital, pls and thanx.

Maui: I want him to fall. I want him to totally crash and burn. I want someone to steal his hook and leave him with nothing. (Before that, though, I want him to get risen up, and to help a few people so that when he crashes, they can come to his aid and make him realize that he’s good enough without his hook.)

Urania: She wants to take over the world. I want her to take over the world. Simple.

Attina: As one of my new babes, I have a lot of plans for her. I want to explore her relationship with each of her sisters. I want her to go on lots of dates and to get herself crushed and to have successful dates too. Also, long term, I want her to like re-examine her life and figure out that she really is not happy and wants so much more.

Hercules: UGH my lil babe, I have so many plans. I need him to learn to control his strength, though I want this to be a slow process. And I definitely, definitely want him to figure out where he is from. (I have a whole idea set up, but I just need him to get there. It’ll also be a slow process, probably.)

OPTIONAL (REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE): In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 strengths and talk about why you think it’s one of your strengths.

Setting: I have a very visual memory. Like--I can remember where on a page something was, even if I don’t remember the exact wording, and I almost always remember what people were wearing during important events. So, I know details about where someone are can be really important and I love describing like the things around someone. All my characters’ homes (and their other spaces, like Chapter Three), I have the entire floor plan of.

Action: I was always taught that movement was really important in a story. And my teacher was big about character quirks, so I just naturally incorporated it into my own writing. Body language is super fascinating to me and I love including it into movement for my characters.

Character Detail: I’ve become obsessed with charting out my character’s lives. It might because I’ve gotten older characters recently, but, I find it really important to know like--everywhere my character has lived and their families (including uncles/aunts/cousins). So, I really feel like I know my characters as people. Which makes it easy for me to slip into their skin and know how they’d react to a situation. I know their little ticks and what their motivations are.

OPTIONAL (REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE): In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 areas of improvement.

Rambling: Sometimes I feel like my posts have a point in the beginning and then the middle is a mess and then I’m like oh crap I gotta like do an action/dialogue/have a point to this lol. I think that kind of thing can work when you have a point, go on a tangent and weave the point through the tangent, but I don’t think ahead in my posts, so that always falls flat. It’s always a happy accident if I can find a way to draw it back.

Proofreading: I know it’s RP and we all write a lot so missing a word here or there or something isn’t a big deal. But, I feel like if I read back through my posts sometimes, I could incorporate later ideas in my post. That’s just something I wanna kind of work on, so I can be more thoughtful with my posts.

OPTIONAL (REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE): Reflect on other writers you love– in the rp or out! How have they influenced you? What do you love about their writing that you want to bring to your own?

Man, I love all y’all. Shout out to some of our new babes: Silv does so great with backstory, I’m always so intrigued, and like I said above, I love planning that kind of shit out, so I always get hype when other people do it too. Also Reanna puts so much enthusiasm into everything she does, it makes me excited to RP, and I love that. Bee also cranks out some lines sometimes where I’m like umm?? Wtf?? That was so good?? Chloe too, just, ugh her writing sometimes. It’s so minimal but not in an obnoxious hemingway-way. Her one shots are so succinct. I love reading them.

I can’t wait to get to know our new-new babes tooo!

IF YOU DID THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE: Alright, now pick an item from the Wishlist you completed in January that you’ve started to pursue. How far are you from completing this goal? Talk about the steps you took to make it happen.

I’m getting ready to (and have started to) explore race/sexuality in an off dash kenya thread w simba and kiara and ber and that’ll be interesting bc they all relate to their race/sexuality differently. It’ll be interesting putting them in an entirely different worlds. Of course, Simba and Ber have been lots of places, but mostly pretty liberal. Kenya is a place where sexuality is not really talked about and there is a bit of hostility towards white people. It’s basically the reverse of everything they’ve known.

I think it’s really interesting to explore Simba’s relationship with his race and sexuality through this, since he loves his family so much and he doesn’t like to lie; but he knows a good bit of his family doesn’t approve. And then, with Kiara, who is half-black/half-white and gay herself, and Ber who is white and queer--it’s gonna be really interesting to see them all navigate that space and still try to find a sense of belonging within it.

Oh, as for making it happen, I have mostly Lauryl to thank, though, I mean I orchestrated some of it myself. Simba was cut off from his family (voluntarily). He reconnected with his mother in July but didn’t reconnect with everyone else until around December, when one of his cousins had a baby. Which led to Simba connecting with all of his cousins again. And then, after everything that Kiara has gone through, Simba wanted her to realize that she does have a place that she belongs, and a family who love and support her; hence why they made the trip to Kenya.

IF YOU DID THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE: Pick another item on your wishlist that hasn’t happened yet. We’re gonna do a MOCK-PLOT!!!

Zella Follows her Dreams:

This might be cheating, since one thread has already started, but we’re gonna use it anyways.

Milla confronts her daughter about not having any plans for after school. Zella confesses she wants to be a stylist. Milla cuts her off financially.

Zella throws a fit about this and disowns herself from the family, bumming around places. (Marie’s, Jenny’s, etc.) They start asking questions Zella doesn’t want to answer sooo

Zella finally shacks up with Ella.

Ella encourages her to #followherdreams and in return Zella tells Ella to get a fucking backbone (but hopefully she’ll be nicer at this point.)

Zella applies to a few internship programs and gets one!! Then she goes to follow her dreams!!

(I would also like to include Ana in this plot but idk how Ana will react so that is something I’ve got to discuss w Kiara.)

Finally: write a NEW wish list for the upcoming half of the year. It’s fine if you use a lot from your previous wish list if you still haven’t completed them and you still want to!

Smut – well, i still haven’t bottomed as a male; but i’ve done some hetero from the female perspective so that’s fun. My new smut goal is: different positions!! Different places!! Missionary is fun and all but;; gets borin and i like body positions so it’d be interesting to try some new stuff (i am talking about this like it is my actual sex life lmao)

Slow Burn – who doesn’t love a slow burn romance? i think it makes a ship feel so much more real when characters are angsting and pining and things keep them apart, whether it be timing, one of them dating someone else, miscommunication, or just general fear of hurt–ugh just give it to me (but not for months). This hasn’t happened yet and that is #rude someone get @ me.

Murder – i want to kill someone. i want someone to kill one of my characters. either one. both. who knows. Okay seriously; Urania needs to kill someone. 

 Kidnapping – someone kidnap one of my characters. ← still relevant

Abortion – i mean, i just think it would be interesting to have a character go through/have to contemplate getting an abortion. from either male or female perspectives. i have several possibilities /eyes zella in particular or tbh lou /eyes lou too ← also still relevant

Surgery/Illness – i love me some good ol���fashion hurt/comfort. also, sweet loves surgery, so if anyone’s characters need surgery, you want them to get hurt or sick, sweet is your guy. but, i mean we all know i love fucking up my characters (gave simba appendicitis, had lou get impaled, copp got shot like forever ago who remembers that eh?) so if you wanna beat up/attack my characters get at me ← always down for this if u wanna injure ur babe

Travel – i’ve had a few characters (lou, zella, simba) take trips to other places; but i would love to get out of swynlake for some threads. why not? ← always down for travel too

Race/Sexuality – i have a couple of characters who i’d love to explore their racial identity in a negative situation. swynlake is pretty free of, like, blatant racists (excluding magick-ists), so i would be curious to see how simba/sweet/etc deals with that. same with sexuality, swynlake is pretty accepting but i’d love for them to confront some homophobia because both that and racism, is, unfortunately realistic and prevalent. ← this is always something interesting

Big Plots – i LOVE big plots and i want to do them with more than just lauryl sorry lauryl i love u. but i want big plotty plots with EVERYONE! stuff that’ll fuck up your characters or my characters or both or they’ll GROW by the end, just stuff that will be an uphill battle. who wants to fight with meee? ← still RELEVANT

In more specific terms:

I want Belle to go back to school.

I want Simba to also go back to school lol

I want Copper to learn how to be a dad, even if that journey eventually takes him out of Swynlake to somewhere he deems “safer.”

I want Zella to go to her internship or w/e and embrace her differences and unlearn the toxic behavior her mother encouraged.

I want Lou to figure out that painting is not what he wants to do w his life. I also want him to date bc I like him better in a relationship lol

I want Bambi to kind of shed his reservations about being who he is and embrace it (both as the Young Prince and his sexuality.)

I want Perdita to continue to recover from her post-partum and mend her relationship with Paul so that they can successfully coparent their kids (and fall in love)

I want Sweet to make friends outside of the hospital. I also want him to mess up and have his hubris catch up to him.

I want Urania to take over the world.

I want Maui to get bolstered up and then I want him to crash and burn and then I want to raise him up again.

I want Attina to find love, but more than that, I want her to accept that she’s not gonna be able to control her sisters and learn to do her own thing.

I want Herc to learn where he’s from, but even more importantly I want him to accept himself for who he is.

[zoematherswrites]

Happy Friday!

This week was a rollERCOASter so I only wrote and edited this blog post last night…but, it is up and here obviously because you are reading it so at least I got it done! Anyways, I really wanted to make another book tag and since I’ve had to read lots of classics lately, and I thought a classic literature tag was the way to go. I hope you enjoy these questions and if you want to do this tag then I tag you! Just make sure you tag me in your post so I can read your answers 🙂

1. Oedipus the King – Pick a Book With An Interesting Family Dynamic

(WARNING: Spoilers for The Mortal Instruments series below)

    Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles and follows Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who learns the true origins of his past…and it is a little shocking, to say the least. A family like that but in more current literature is the Morgenstern family from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Not only do Clary and Jace fall in love and then think they are siblings, but even when they find out they aren’t we still learn that Clary has kissed her brother because he is a sick and twisted demon baby…yeah, interesting isn’t a strong enough word to describe this family.

2. Macbeth – Pick a Book That Bleeds Murder and Betrayal 

(WARNING: Spoilers for the Harry Potter series below)

    Macbeth is the well-known Shakespeare play that follows a man (Macbeth) who becomes king after killing the king…and then is basically driven mad with an unquenchable thirst for power. A book with a similar plotline to this that contains lots of murder and betrayal is honestly the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. I mean, Harry’s parents are killed by Voldemort when he is a baby, Neville’s parents were killed by Bellatrix also when he was a baby, Quirrel betrays everyone by housing Voldy on the back of his head, Dumbledore dies, Snape dies, Mad-Eye Moody dies, Hedwig dies, Fred dies, and honestly, Harry can’t nor doesn’t trust anyone towards the end of the series. Is that enough death and betrayal???

3. The Odyssey – Pick a Character Who Is On a Journey to Get Home 

    The Odyssey by Homer is one of two epic Greek poems where the main idea is that Odysseus is trying to return home. A character that reminds me of Odysseus and whose series also includes Greek mythology is Apollo from The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan! The whole plot for this trilogy is that Zeus casts Apollo down to earth as a mortal with the task of earning his godly powers back by completing tasks. Much like Odysseus, he is struggling to return home and the journey is not easy. I haven’t finished reading this series, but I am hoping to in the near future…however, my TBR list is massive so maybe we will say just sometime in the future for now.

4. Romeo and Juliet – Pick a Romance Book…But That Has a Twist

(WARNING: I spoil Eleanor and Park below so…)

  We all know the story, Romeo and Juliet, right? Honestly, I have never read it but I get the gist of it. Two young (very young) people fall in love even though their families hate each other, but they can’t help it! Raging hormones and such…well, you know us teens. Anyways, they love each other so, so much that when one of them fakes their own death, the other one kills themselves because they can’t bear to be parted from their beloved. Crazy, I know. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell is an amazing contemporary following two characters, Eleanor and Park who develop a strange, but an adorable relationship, however, their story doesn’t tie up with a pretty bow. While neither of them kills themselves, Eleanor just disappears from Park’s life and I don’t think any of us were expecting that. Much like Romeo and Juliet.

5. Pride and Prejudice – Pick a Strong Female Character Who Goes Through Lengths to Prove Herself

  Jane Austen wrote many books where the main character was a female struggling in a world of men, and even today we still see women treated unfairly. One character that comes to mind that has had to prove herself a lot during her story is Gwenyth Shepard from Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. In Ruby Red, Gwen is from a family of time-travellers, however, her cousin, Charlotte is thought to have the gene. When Gwen travels back in time though, she realizes that she’s the one with the gene and is thrust into a world of chaos and time-travel. Since Gwen is unexpectedly the time-traveller of the family, she doesn’t have the training in languages, history, arts, etc that Charlotte does, and because of that, she is constantly undermined by most of the characters in this trilogy. While Gwen is no world-changer of a character, she is just a normal, teenage girl that is trying to weave her way in life and on top of all that, time-travel as well yet is constantly weighed down by the doubt of others…mostly men, to be honest.

6. Lord of the Flies – Pick a Book Where Morals Are Very Grey

  Lord of the Flies was not a favourite of mine but I had to include it in this tag. It follows a group of boys on an island when their plane crashes after they flee London which is currently under attack by the Germans. Without any adults, their responsibility and morals are really put to the test when they find themselves battling against nature, and themselves. I think all books need characters who are “morally grey” because that is a reality for a lot of us. Most people are neither good or bad, give or take a few, and that needs to be reflected more in literature. One series that has a quite a few characters like this is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. Most of the characters are overall decent people but would do anything for the people they love or even just for themselves. They don’t always make the right or best decisions, and sometimes people have to pay for that.

7. The Hobbit – Pick a Character Who Leaves Everything Behind For An Adventure

  I love The Hobbit movies but have yet to read the books…I know, I know, but honestly, I find the books a little hard to read. One character that reminds me of this question, and I am not saying she reminds me of the main character who is a hobbit, but that is Margo from Paper Towns by John Green. Margo literally picks up everything and leaves her family and friends without an answer to go on an adventure doing who knows what and where. She is spontaneous and free-spirited because of that and is always seeking an adventure.

8. The Great Gatsby – Pick a Character Who Strives For the “American Dream”

  The Great Gatsby takes place during the Roaring Twenties where there was lots of dancing, flappers, jazz, and the gloriously, wealthy idea of the “American Dream” which is something the main character chases. However, the “American Dream” is kind of unattainable and our main character doesn’t realize this until it’s too late. A character in another book that reminds me of this, as someone who loves the lights, the camera, and the action I guess you could say, is Lola Nolan from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Lola loves dressing up different each day, never wearing the same outfit twice. She also expects to live happily ever after with her boyfriend, Max and have a perfect life…but the reality is a little different than that.

9. The Tempest – Pick a Character Who Is On the Run

  Another Shakespeare plays but this one is a little different and weirder than his others in my opinion. In this story, Prospero and his daughter, Miranda are hiding from his evil brother but she doesn’t know. There is love, betrayal, and all that fun Shakespeare stuff. A character who is very much on the run is Day from the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu(or I guess series now, actually) because he is a convicted criminal on the run from the very corrupted government, called the Republic. So yeah, Day!

10. The Secret Garden – Pick a Book That Has a Secret World

  Okay, again, I have never read The Secret Garden…but I have seen the movie. I wish I read it when I was younger because I just don’t think I would enjoy it as much now! However, as it says in the title, the main character of this story is a young girl who finds yes, a secret garden. Lots of YA books have secret worlds hidden in them, amongst all the normal, much like Mary finding the secret garden which brings her a lot of good. In The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth, our two main characters, Evelyn and Philippa, as well as their brother, discover a secret world amongst the chaos of World War II, called The Woodlands. The Woodlands is a magical world of nature and beauty but much like our characters world back home, a war is upon them. The siblings stay and help out with the war, but once it is over they are sent back despite Evelyn’s protests and have to learn to adjust in the real world. They all needed this world badly for different, reasons, and it helped bring out their true selves in the real world because of it!

Okay! So those were my ten questions for the classic literature book tag, and I hope you enjoyed. Please tag me if you decide to do this tag because I’d love to see your answers! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post, as well as my social media accounts for more bookish and writing related content. Everything is linked below, thanks 🙂

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Classic Literature Book Tag (Original) Happy Friday! This week was a rollERCOASter so I only wrote and edited this blog post last night...but, it is up and here obviously because you are reading it so at least I got it done!